How to Make Perfect Slime

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March 4, 2017 by Katie T. Christiansen 87 Comments

If you are looking for the perfect slime recipe and don’t want a slime fail, you are in the right place. After years of making slime recipes, I have figured out how to make slime right…the first time!

I tested this recipe out on my friends who swore they couldn’t make slime and didn’t want to try again. I begged them to try it… just one last time. I’m even including a video of the process, step by step!

How to Make Slime

They gave it a go, and it was a Eureka moment! The slime worked!! I got picture after picture of children happily playing with slime! If you need a recipe for how to make slime for kids, this is it! Slime is super calming, and some children will easily play with it for long periods of time! I love slime because it gives us hours upon hours of play, and it’s not as messy as playdough. It’s also the perfect way to include sensory play in your preschool curriculum!

How to Make Slime Video

If slime has ever gone wrong for you, it’s not you! Slime can be so tricky! I have figured the main reason that borax slimes go all wrong.

If you are looking for a slime without borax and live in Canada, try this one with contact lens solution as a substitute!

Slime Kits

If you live in the U.S., it is nearly impossible to make slime without borax since it is in products such as Sta-Flo and contact lens solution. But those products have already diluted the borax, which makes it a bit easier.

An easy and super affordable option is to get a slime kit! The kit includes a recipe and all you need is baking soda and contact lens solution. The glue is a steal in slime kits on Amazon though!

Why slime fails

Most of the time that slimes fail is due to the amount of borax. Many recipes call for 1 tsp to 1 Tbsp. While that sounds like a small amount, you don’t even need that much! My perfect slime is made with ½ tsp to ¾ tsp of borax.

The other big reason that slimes fail is that the ingredients need to be broken down a bit before they are mixed together. One time I skipped putting water into my glue, and my slime turned out so hard. It was awful!

You might find it helpful to read my post about the most common mistakes people make when making slime. This way you can avoid the most frequent mistakes people make that slime goes wrong.

I recommend following my instructions for my homemade slime recipe very closely, especially if this is your first time or if you have had slimes go wrong in the past. Something that may seem to quicken up the slime process could

you a super rubbery or sticky slime, which is no fun!

If you are unsure about using slime with Borax, here is a great article about the science behind slime.

Borax Slime Recipe

This is enough slime for about 2-4 children at a time. It takes about 15 minutes to make one batch.

Do you want to make slime with Sta-Flo or saline solution? This book has the best slime recipes for that. I call the author the “slime queen.” She truly knows her science and has perfected her recipes. Here’s a look at it:

How to Make Slime with Elmer’s Glue

Please note that this should be made by an adult or with a responsible adult’s close supervision.

Materials:

2 Bottles of Elmer’s glue (5-6 oz each bottle)– Clear, Glitter Glue, or White Glue
½ – 1 tsp of Borax (the tiny sized spoons)
1 cup hot water, ½ cup water
Big, wide bowl
Liquid watercolor or food coloring (optional)
Glitter (optional)
Confetti (optional)
Vinegar (in case it gets on clothes or hair — you’ll be so glad if that happens)
Gloves

I recommend using two bottles because you want to get a perfect consistency of slime, and the second bottle is a backup. Make them one at a time though so that you can adapt the second one if necessary. Getting the perfect consistency the first time doesn’t always go so smoothly, so I like having the second bottle to make my slime completely perfect!

My favorite slime is made of clear glue or glitter glue (both Elmer’s). Remember that you can get these for an absolute steal when buying the Slime Kit through Amazon!! And Elmer’s white glue works as well. You are able to see through the clear glue or glitter glue, but white glue looks more like the substance many of us remember as silly putty.

Borax is available online, but it is much more affordable in the grocery stores. You will find it where cleaning detergents are located.

Related post: A YEAR of amazing slime recipes and ideas

Bowl 1 – Water and Borax Mixture

Find a nice sized bowl. You will need to squish the slime in it, so make sure it is big and wide enough.

Mix one cup of hot water in the bowl with ½ tsp of borax. Dissolve completely.

You will want to hold onto this mixture, even after your slime is made! If you find that your slime is too stretchy or turns sticky after a few minutes of playing, you’ll be glad you didn’t dump this out!

Allow the borax and water to cool as you prep you the next step.

Bowl 2 – Glue and Water Mixture

Mix one container of Elmer’s glue (5-6 oz) with ½ cup of water. You won’t want to skip this step. The glue needs to be watered down and separated to prevent a slime fail. I find that a container with a pour spout is perfect for this.

Use a whisk to stir them together. You want it to be completely mixed, so this may take a few minutes.

Add a squirt of liquid watercolor or a few drops of food coloring. This is also when you want to stir in any glitter. Fine glitter will show up

really small and make your slime glisten. Big glitter will add a pop of color and fun. Here is a gorgeous gold glitter slime from Fun at Home with Kids with the large glitter.

If you use Elmer’s glitter glue, which is already colored, you don’t have to use coloring or glitter. But you can add extra if you wa

nt more.

Combine the two!

Now it’s time to pour your glue mixture into the big bowl with the borax and water mixture.

Update:

Some people find they get better results by pouring small amounts of the borax mixture into the glue mixture until it turns into slime.
Watch for a minute as the glue mixture starts to polymerize! It’s such a cool sight to see.
Then, start squishing the slime to help it absorb as much of the borax and water mixture as possible. Feel free to wear gloves or to stir with a spoon if you would prefer. I recommend that the adult does this part.

The slime will feel quite sticky or chunky for a minute or two but keep squishing, kneading, stirring, or mixing. Do this for two to three minutes.

Once it isn’t feeling sticky or chunky, pull it out and knead it some more.

Hopefully, you will have an amazing slime that is perfect to stretch, bend, and mold. Lastly, add any confetti to your slime. Here is our slime with a touch of snowflake confetti.

You can even jazz up your slime with some snowflakes or other confetti, plastic creatures, cookie cutters, or anything other fun play items. I avoid putting anything wood into slime, but there are so many other toys or craft materials you could use!

We love slime with silicone cupcake liners to make a cupcake station!

Getting the right texture

I like my slime to have a nice amount of stretch without being sticky or rubbery. Finding that perfect amount takes a little bit of practice. If you love how your slime turned out, then just repeat this recipe for the second bottle of glue.

Slime that is too sticky

If your slime is feeling too sticky, put it back into the bowl and squish it into the water some more. If this doesn’t help, add another ¼ tsp of borax to the water mixture and then try putting the slime back into the mixture again.

Slime that is too stretchy

If your slime is too stretchy, add ¼ tsp of borax to the water and stir until it dissolves. Now put the slime back into the borax and water and squish again.

Slime that is too rubbery

Here is super rubbery slime!

Sometimes this will fix itself after it has been played with for several minutes and gets warmed up.

If it’s still too rubbery after being warmed up, then you will make another batch of slime that is super stretchy. Then combine the two slimes, and they melt together to make a great consistency. Pictured below is a super stretchy slime with a rubbery one on top of it. When they combined, it was perfect consistency!

Once they blend together, knead them for a minute or two, and your slime will feel so much better!

The way to make a super stretchy slime is to use only ¼ tsp of borax when you make the water and borax mixture.

That’s where the second glue bottle comes in handy!

Remove Slime from Hair or Clothes

Once you get playing with the slime, you will need vinegar if any gets on clothes or hair. The vinegar will dissolve it right away!

Storing Slime

Store your slime in a bag or airtight container. We use our slime for weeks, but just keep an eye on it. If you accidentally leave your slime out for a few hours, it should recover. Just put it in a bag and bring it out in a day.

I hope this slime recipe helps you make slime that is perfect the first time!

Print off the full instructions here:

Yield: 1 batch